UN Special Rapporteur Tom Andrews asked governments to denounce the upcoming vote, citing the junta’s political crackdowns and media restrictions; he also warned that sending observers would help legitimize the regime (Irrawaddy)
Junta Sets Second Round for Elections
The second round of voting will include one hundred towns and take place on January 11, two weeks after the first round on December 28, even as international observers and opposition parties continue to criticize the elections as a sham (Reuters)
China Mediates Myanmar Ceasefire
The Ta’ang National Liberation Army agreed to halt fighting and withdraw from several strategic towns near the Chinese border after talks in Kunming, while the junta pledged to stop ground offensives and airstrikes against remaining rebel-held areas; the deal bolsters the military ahead of contested December elections and reflects China’s efforts to minimize instability along its frontier (AP)
Junta Rallies Ahead of Elections
Election campaigning began in Myanmar two months before a national vote widely viewed as an attempt to legitimize the 2021 military coup, as UN Secretary-General António Guterres reiterated in a meeting with Southeast Asian nations; the junta-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party held several ceremonies as part of the electoral campaigning, though armed resistance groups continue vowing to challenge the vote (Al Jazeera)
ASEAN Declines to Send Observers for Myanmar Election
Officials said the regional bloc will not deploy monitors to the December polls, dealing a blow to the junta’s bid to portray the elections as legitimate, though individual ASEAN states may still send observers bilaterally (AFP)
Malaysia Reiterates Demands on Junta
Ahead of an ASEAN summit, Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan suggested that the junta government should honor the Five-Point Consensus plan by permitting humanitarian aid and engaging in dialogue; he also repeated the ASEAN demand for the December elections to be free and fair, even as he indicated the bloc could not stop them (Reuters)
Junta Bans Election Rallies
The junta-controlled Union Election Commission ordered the ban, limiting election campaigns to pre-approved indoor speeches under military supervision; opposition parties said they would campaign online despite internet blackouts, as the regime tightens control ahead of the December elections (Irrawaddy)
Meanwhile, pro-junta media outlets circulated false claims that junta chief Min Aung Hlaing would attend the upcoming ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur; Malaysian officials dismissed the reports and suggested that the ban on junta attendance, in effect since 2021, remains unchanged (Irrawaddy)
Junta Raids Cybercrime Hub
The junta shut down the KK Park scam complex near the Thai border, arresting more than two thousand suspects and seizing thirty Starlink terminals used for online fraud and gambling operations linked to cross-border criminal networks (AP)
EU Reiterates Condemnations of Planned Myanmar Elections
European Union Human Rights Commissioner Kajsa Ollongren said Brussels will not send observers to Myanmar’s December elections, calling the vote illegitimate and urging Southeast Asian nations to press the junta toward dialogue and genuine democratic transition (AFP)
Junta Suggests December Election Will Not Be Nationwide
The junta chief cited the ongoing civil war to justify the decision and suggested the vote would instead proceed only in select areas, with by-elections planned later; the junta has invited observers from Southeast Asia, though only six parties currently meet strict eligibility requirements (Reuters)
Malaysia to Send Observers for December Elections
Myanmar’s state media made the announcement following talks between Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan and junta leader Min Aung Hlaing; Hassan reaffirmed that the elections should be conducted fairly, as observers continue to dismiss them as an attempt to legitimize military rule (Reuters)
Junta Airstrike Kills Dozens at Buddhist Festival
Military paragliders struck a candlelight vigil in Sagaing on the Full Moon Day of Thadingyut, killing at least thirty-two people, including children, and injuring more than fifty; the junta also struck areas held by the Ta’ang National Liberation Army in northern Shan State (Irrawaddy)
Political Crackdown Continues Under Junta
The Irrawaddy reported that the junta has prosecuted sixty-four people since July under its new Election Protection Law, which punishes opposing the planned December elections with sentences of up to death; rights groups say the crackdown aims to quash dissent (Irrawaddy)
Junta Secures Kyaukme
Myanmar’s military recaptured Kyaukme in Shan State, launching clearance operations within a five-mile radius of the town and ordering civil servants to return within three days; the assault on Kyaukme, launched on August 19, is part of an effort to secure National Highway 3, which links Mandalay to the China border (Irrawaddy)
Myanmar Military Recaptures Key Town
The military said it retook Kyaukme, a strategic district capital on a China-linked trade route in Shan State, more than a year after it fell to the Ta’ang National Liberation Army; the capture follows weeks of ground assaults and airstrikes as the junta seeks to reclaim further rebel-held areas ahead of planned December elections (AP)
Rohingya Leaders Plead for Protection at UN
At the first UN high-level meeting on the Rohingya crisis, activists urged world leaders to stop ongoing mass killings against Myanmar’s persecuted Muslim minority, suggesting that decades of rhetorical statements have brought no real action and instead calling for a UN-supervised safe zone in northern Rakhine (AP)
Junta Airstrikes Kill Dozens
Junta airstrikes killed at least thirty-four civilians from September 26 to 29, targeting areas in Bago, Chin, Magwe, Kachin, and other states; armed resistance camps were also targeted, with fourteen fighters killed in Mandalay and three in Magwe (Irrawaddy)
Report Says Myanmar Army Demolished Rohingya Villages
The UN-backed report says the crackdown, which occurred in 2017, was aimed at clearing land to build security outposts, with private firms allegedly supporting the effort under state contracts; the report comes as 1.3 million Rohingya remain in camps in Bangladesh (Reuters)
Min Aung Hlaing Meets Putin in Moscow
Russian President Vladimir Putin met Myanmar’s junta leader Min Aung Hlaing in Moscow to discuss cooperation in defense, energy, and investment, as the junta seeks closer ties with Russia and China to counter Western sanctions (Bloomberg)
Junta Airstrike Kills At least Seventeen in Kachin State
Military aircraft bombed a Kachin Independence Army position in Shwegu Township, with local outlets reporting at least seventeen killed and dozens wounded; the strike follows intensified regime air campaigns since August (Irrawaddy)
ASEAN Ministers Cancel Myanmar Visit
After junta chief Min Aung Hlaing declined to meet them, foreign ministers from Malaysia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand called off a planned trip to Myanmar aimed at discussing the December elections (Irrawaddy)
Junta Airstrike on Myanmar Boarding School Kills Nineteen Students
An ethnic militia said a military strike in Rakhine’s Kyauktaw Township killed nineteen students, while UNICEF condemned the attack as part of spiraling violence that has seen nearly five hundred airstrikes nationwide in the past month (Reuters)
Junta Dissolves Four Political Parties Ahead of Elections
The junta-controlled Union Election Commission disbanded the National Democratic Force and three smaller parties, citing failure to meet membership and office requirements; critics said the move further narrows space for the opposition before the December elections (Mizzima)
United States Sanctions Southeast Asian Scam Networks
The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned nearly twenty entities and individuals in Burma and Cambodia tied to cyber scams, including operations run by the junta-allied Karen National Army; officials said Americans lost more than $10 billion to such scams in 2024 (Treasury)
Junta Chief Hails China Visit
Myanmar’s Min Aung Hlaing hailed his China trip as “successful and fruitful” after meeting Xi Jinping, Narendra Modi, and other leaders at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit; Beijing voiced support for his planned elections, while the Burmese opposition urged China to suspend recognition of the junta (Irrawaddy)